Overview

How did our modern ideas of physical well-being originate? As John Crowley demonstrates in ""The Invention of Comfort"", changes in sensible technology owed a great deal to fashion-conscious elites discovering discomfort in surroundings they earlier had felt to be satisfactory. Written in an accessible style that should appeal to historians and material culture specialists as well as to general readers, this work brings together such disparate topics of analysis as climate, fire, food, clothing, the senses and anxiety - especially about the night.

Full Product Details

Author:   John E. Crowley (George Munro Professor of History, Dalhousie University)
Publisher:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.90cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.567kg
ISBN:  

9780801873157

ISBN 10:   0801873150
Pages:   376
Publication Date:   25 April 2003
Recommended Age:   From 17
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface and Acknowledgments PART I: TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL AMENITY Chapter 1. Commodious Comfort: Hall and Hearth, Chamber and Chimney Chapter 2. Civil Comfort: Mansion Houses Chapter 3. Colonial Comfort: Vernacular and Elegant Options PART II: FROM LUXURY TO COMFORT Chapter 4. Decent Comfort: Candles and Mirrors Chapter 5. Convenient Comfort: Political Economy Chapter 6. Enlightened Comfort: Stoves and Lamps PART III: THE LANDSCAPE OF COMFORT Chapter 7. Picturesque Comfort: The Cottage Chapter 8. Healthy Comfort: The Piazza Chapter 9. Gendered Comfort: House Design BooksConclusionNotesI

Reviews

<p>The Invention of Comfort is an important and thought-provoking book that challenges our understanding of why people live that way they do.--Marie Morgan New England Quarterly

<p> Good books cross lines drawn in the sand by others. Terrific books scatter the sand and redraw the lines. John E. Crowley's The Invention of Comfort is one of the latter... A masterful and sweeping interpretation of material culture evidence that asks important historical questions. -- Ann Smart Martin, Journal of Social History

<p>Good books cross lines drawn in the sand by others. Terrific books scatter the sand and redraw the lines. John E. Crowley's The Invention of Comfort is one of the latter... A masterful and sweeping interpretation of material culture evidence that asks important historical questions.--Ann Smart Martin Journal of Social History (01/01/2004)

Author Information

John E. Crowley is the George Munro Professor of History at Dalhousie University. He is currently studying the creation of a global landscape in British visual culture c. 1750-1820.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions